1. Project Goals and Deliverables
- Project Goals and Deliverables
- Project Schedule
- Report Outline
- Technical Report
- Oral Presentation
- Topic Selection
- Information Sources
This project is designed to provide you with an opportunity to use the skills and techniques studied in our course. For the project you will work in small groups (three or four persons) to research, write and present technical documents. You will work through all the phases of the technical writing process from audience analysis to final report.
The project requires three deliverables: (1) an outline of the technical report, (2) the technical report itself and (3) an oral presentation. Detailed descriptions of the three components are provided on pages 2 and 3.
2. Project Schedule
Phase 1, due Wednesday, 21 January, 1998
A memo or e-mail to Helen Powell (helen.powell@dal.ca) including the following information:
The names of your team members, with one person designated as the contact person. Find partners with whom you are prepared to work closely on a long-term project. It is most important that the work is evenly shared.The topic you have selected.
Note: In the event that more than one team selects the same topic, the team with the earliest response time and date will be given priority. Any others will have to select another topic.A list of your three preferred dates for the oral presentation
Phase 2, due Wednesday, 18 February, 1998
Report outline
Phase 3, 18 March – 8 April, 1998
Oral presentations
Schedule to be arranged based on the submissions from Phase 1
Phase 4, due Monday, 6 April, 1998
Full report
3. Report Outline (5% of final grade)
The outline is a systematic arrangement of topics, with a formal numbering system for the headings and subheadings. It should reflect the format of the final full report. See chapter 8 of your textbook for detailed information on outlines.
The following elements must be included in the outline:
4. Technical Report (30% of final grade)
- Title page
- A statement describing the audience for whom the final report will be written
- A statement describing the purpose of the final report
- Sections, headings and subheadings numbered and arranged in the format of the full report
The report must exhibit all the characteristics of good technical writing. It must be well designed. All information sources must be properly documented. The following elements must be included in the report:
Include if necessary:
- letter of transmittal
- cover
- title page
- table of contents
- list of illustrations
- executive summary
- introduction
- discussion of the proposed program
- discussion of qualifications and experience
- budget
- task schedule
- conclusion
- bibliography
5. Oral presentation (15% of final grade)
- glossary and list of symbols
- appendices
You will develop an oral presentation based on your project topic. Donna Richardson (donna.richardson@dal.ca) will be conducting this component of the term project. In your textbook, refer to Chapter 21.
SUBJECT
Working with your team, prepare an oral presentation on an aspect of your final report. It should be a presentation that either informs or persuades your audience.
AUDIENCE
The audience will be the executive group of your target organization, a mixed group composed of technical experts, managers and financial officers.
FORMAT
The total time allotted for each presentation is twenty minutes with 15 minutes for presentation and 5 minutes for questions. Each member of the team will present a portion of the talk (5 minutes). The team will have 5 minutes to set up before the presentation.
INTRODUCTION
Please prepare a short written introduction to be read by your instructor before your talk. It should include the title of your presentation, your names, and one or two important accomplishments in the subject area. The introduction should answer the question, "why these speakers to this audience at this time".
WHEN AND WHERE
Presentations will take place on the following dates in
301A or 301B:
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GRADING OF PRESENTATION (15% of final grade)
Organization 5%
Presentation skills 5%
Visual aids 5%
6. Topic Selection
Option one
Your firm is preparing a proposal to complete one of the projects listed below. Write a technical report, in the form of a proposal, designed to meet the information needs of a diverse audience that includes engineering experts, managers and financial officers.
Please note:
This list is a mix of specific and generic topics.Many of the topics are historical in nature. Your target audience must therefore correspond, e.g., the British government of 1875 for the Suez Canal or Henry Ford in 1900 for the carburetor.
| Air conditioner
Alaska Highway Artificial hip Astrodome, Houston Automatic transmission Brooklyn Bridge, New York Calculator Camera Carburetor Catapult Channel Tunnel between England and France Coliseum, Rome Combine harvester Conveyor Diesel engine Eiffel Tower, Paris Electric light Empire State Building, New York Erie Canal, New York State Flood control system Fuel injection Generator Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco Great Pyramid, Giza ,Egypt Hearing aid Heat pump Helicopter Hong Kong Bank, Hong Kong Hoover Dam, Nevada Hot air balloon Hovercraft Hydrofoil |
Irrigation system
Jet engine La Grande Riviere Hydro Project, James Bay Lawnmower Microwave oven Mont Blanc Tunnel, France Motorcycle Offshore oil drilling platform Panama Canal Pollution remediation project Pompidou Centre, Paris Pont du Gard, France Refrigerator Reims Cathedral Robot Roman baths, Roman Empire Sailing yacht Saint Lawrence Seaway Saint Paul’s Cathedral Sewerage system Skydome Solar greenhouse Solar heating system Space suit Steam locomotive Submarine Suez Canal Telephone Thames Barrier, London Water pump Wind power project Windmill |
6. Topic Selection, continued
Option two
With approval from your instructor you may select another project topic. After you determine your topic, write a memo or e-mail message to Helen Powell (helen.powell@dal.ca) with the following information:
Approval will be given if the topic is manageable and if there is supporting material available.
- details of the topic,
- a description of the report you plan to write
- a description of the oral presentation.
7. Information Sources
There is information on all topics in the Dalhousie University Libraries. Dictionaries, handbooks and encyclopedias are good sources for background material. Current periodical literature will provide information on recent research. If you need additional information, remember that you have access to all the Novanet libraries. Also, the World Wide Web is a valuable resource for many topics and research areas.
Your textbook is a good source of information on how to write and present outlines, oral presentations and reports:
Markel, Mike. 1998. Technical communication: situations and strategies. 5th ed. New York: St. Martin’s Press